The championship, originally set to begin on Wednesday, May 22, at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in a double-elimination tournament format will now begin on Thursday, May 23, and will utilize a pool play format.

IRVING, Texas— In the wake of this week’s devastating storm in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, the Big 12 Conference is postponing the start of the 2013 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship.

The championship, originally set to begin on Wednesday, May 22, at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in a double-elimination tournament format will now begin on Thursday, May 23, and will utilize a pool play format.

“We debated canceling the tournament in deference to the devastating tragedy in Moore, but were encouraged by Oklahoma City leaders and the Oklahoma City All-Sports Association to go forward,” said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “ We believe the tournament can serve as a testament to the strong Oklahoma spirit and to the resiliency of the Oklahoma people.”

The Conference was encouraged to proceed with the championship by Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett.

“We are very appreciative of the consideration by the participating teams and the Big 12 Conference,” Cornett said. “We encouraged and supported the decision to play the championship in a format comfortable to the Big 12.”

The pool play format, which has previously been used by the Big 12, will feature two pools. K-State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Baylor will play in one pool with Oklahoma State, West Virginia, TCU and Kansas in the second pool. Each team will be guaranteed three games and the team with the best record in each pool will advance to the championship game on Sunday.

The format will feature games at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m., CT on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The championship game will be at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, May 26.

Fans who made advanced purchase of tickets are encouraged to use the ticket with the correct session number based on the schedule above. For those fans that have a Weekend Pass, your tickets will be valid beginning with Session 3. Upon arrival to the facility, please visit the RedHawks ticket office on Mickey Mantle Drive to be re-issued tickets for your games.

Thursday through Saturday contests will be telecast on Fox College Sports while Sunday’s championship game will be on FSN.